So, if they Yankees buy up the entire top of the free agency crop they are the evil empire and criticized for it. If they decide to exercise fiscal responsibility they are stupid and criticized for it. Sounds like Cashman has a fun job.

Can someone correct me if I'm wrong. Summary: Yankees aren't trying to bid for Greinke and Hamilton because they historically don't like the pressure of big markets, thus the writer interprets this as Yankees being frugal for no reasons mentioned in the article.

thecpt:Can someone correct me if I'm wrong. Summary: Yankees aren't trying to bid for Greinke and Hamilton because they historically don't like the pressure of big markets, thus the writer interprets this as Yankees being frugal for no reasons mentioned in the article.

Greinke is not believed to be capable of handling big markets. Hamilton is a recovering drug user with injury issues who wants 7yr/175m. I wouldn't want either of them on the Yankees on longer than 1 year contracts.

Droog8912:thecpt: Can someone correct me if I'm wrong. Summary: Yankees aren't trying to bid for Greinke and Hamilton because they historically don't like the pressure of big markets, thus the writer interprets this as Yankees being frugal for no reasons mentioned in the article.

Greinke is not believed to be capable of handling big markets. Hamilton is a recovering drug user with injury issues who wants 7yr/175m. I wouldn't want either of them on the Yankees on longer than 1 year contracts.

/Hope they keep Ichiro to replace Swisher

i want them to keep ichiro as well. i dont mind keeping swisher. even tho we hurt his lil feelings

v2micca:So, if they Yankees buy up the entire top of the free agency crop they are the evil empire and criticized for it. If they decide to exercise fiscal responsibility they are stupid and criticized for it. Sounds like Cashman has a fun job.

This.

Subtard picked the wrong tag. Of course NY shouldn't pick up either of those guys. Wasn't it said just a few weeks ago (God it feels like longer) that the Yankees are trying to REDUCE their payroll? If so, why the hell would they be looking to overspend on overvalued FAs?

Freakin Rican:i want them to keep ichiro as well. i dont mind keeping swisher. even tho we hurt his lil feelings

didn't mind Swisher either, although he is atrocious in the post-season. (His line is .169/.283/.305 through 181 plate appearances) Someone is going to pay him a good chunk of change, and I'd say he deserves it, but the Yankees are trying to cut payroll not increase it. Someone will offer 5yr/75m or something like that and the Yankees won't try to match.

And the hole in the pocket, which subby believes is created by the excessive cash the Yankees supposedly have, is bigger than subby thinks. It leads directly to the small market teams and MLB, since the Yankees would face huge penalties if they go over $189 million. Even if The Boss were alive, he wouldn't be dumb enough to go over that cap just to pony up money for Greinke or Hamilton, neither of whom would be worth the exorbitant contract plus the cap penalty.

nein:And the hole in the pocket, which subby believes is created by the excessive cash the Yankees supposedly have, is bigger than subby thinks. It leads directly to the small market teams and MLB, since the Yankees would face huge penalties if they go over $189 million. Even if The Boss were alive, he wouldn't be dumb enough to go over that cap just to pony up money for Greinke or Hamilton, neither of whom would be worth the exorbitant contract plus the cap penalty.

/subby fails//as does the tag

How much do they get from the YES network? They've got a tremendous revenue stream even after sharing.

/no reason to blow up the team with the best record in the AL because they shiat the bed in a playoff series, either. Anything can happen for 4 games

you have pee hands:nein: And the hole in the pocket, which subby believes is created by the excessive cash the Yankees supposedly have, is bigger than subby thinks. It leads directly to the small market teams and MLB, since the Yankees would face huge penalties if they go over $189 million. Even if The Boss were alive, he wouldn't be dumb enough to go over that cap just to pony up money for Greinke or Hamilton, neither of whom would be worth the exorbitant contract plus the cap penalty.

/subby fails//as does the tag

How much do they get from the YES network? They've got a tremendous revenue stream even after sharing.

/no reason to blow up the team with the best record in the AL because they shiat the bed in a playoff series, either. Anything can happen for 4 games

I'm not saying they'll go broke. But estimates are that they would save up to $65 million/year by staying below the $189 million threshold. That's not chump change.

alright, I'll explain a few things for subby and any other misinformed Yankee haters out there

- Hal Steinbrenner is -adamant- about getting under the cap by 2014. George liked winning. Hal likes money.- they've LONG (years ago) since expressed no interest in Greinke and vice versa- Hamilton is a poor fit in more ways than two- (draft pick protecting) minimum offers have already been given to Soriano, Swisher and Kuroda. Soriano and Swisher are expected to decline; Yankees are expected to let them walk. They may negotiate with Kuroda.- Granderson and Cano have already been given extensions- Yankees and Ichiro are hopeful in coming to a deal

The Bestest:alright, I'll explain a few things for subby and any other misinformed Yankee haters out there

- Hal Steinbrenner is -adamant- about getting under the cap by 2014. George liked winning. Hal likes money.- they've LONG (years ago) since expressed no interest in Greinke and vice versa- Hamilton is a poor fit in more ways than two- (draft pick protecting) minimum offers have already been given to Soriano, Swisher and Kuroda. Soriano and Swisher are expected to decline; Yankees are expected to let them walk. They may negotiate with Kuroda.- Granderson and Cano have already been given extensions- Yankees and Ichiro are hopeful in coming to a deal

The Bestest:- (draft pick protecting) minimum offers have already been given to Soriano, Swisher and Kuroda. Soriano and Swisher are expected to decline; Yankees are expected to let them walk. They may negotiate with Kuroda.

Plus, Kuroda (and Pettitte and Rivera) are likely to sign 1 year deals. The Yankees might open up the wallet a little bit on those guys and it won't matter because they'll end up off the books by 2014 anyway.

mainstreet62:I don't know why the Yankees would let Soriano walk. He was worth the money he was paid, was he not?

/at least, I thought he was//could be wrong

Well, the money he was paid in 2012 might be totally reasonable considering he became the closer. To pay him more money to be the setup man? That might not be worth doing. It would be nice if they can give him performance bonuses, because I don't know if he would be as good in a setup role, but I doubt he'd take a deal like that.

mainstreet62:I don't know why the Yankees would let Soriano walk. He was worth the money he was paid, was he not?

Soriano had an opt-out clause, which he exercised. He was already going to make $14m before out-opt; that suggests he's looking for something much more. Probably something like 3 or 4 years for about $15+ million a year. That's a lot for any reliever not named Mariano Rivera.

Joe_diGriz:mainstreet62: I don't know why the Yankees would let Soriano walk. He was worth the money he was paid, was he not?

Soriano had an opt-out clause, which he exercised. He was already going to make $14m before out-opt; that suggests he's looking for something much more. Probably something like 3 or 4 years for about $15+ million a year. That's a lot for any reliever not named Mariano Rivera.

Not necessarily. He had only 1 more year left on his contract, so he was due only $14m total. It wouldn't be shocking to see him take a 4 year deal at $48m - $52m ($12m-$13m per), or a 3-year deal at around $40m. He'll be looking for more guaranteed dollars total, not necessarily per year. Of course, he probably wouldn't turn down a $15m/year offer, but I doubt anyone will offer that.

idesofmarch:mainstreet62: I don't know why the Yankees would let Soriano walk. He was worth the money he was paid, was he not?

/at least, I thought he was//could be wrong

Well, the money he was paid in 2012 might be totally reasonable considering he became the closer. To pay him more money to be the setup man? That might not be worth doing. It would be nice if they can give him performance bonuses, because I don't know if he would be as good in a setup role, but I doubt he'd take a deal like that.

They can't give performance bonuses. They can give bonuses in terms of, say, closing out 30+ games or pitching 60+ innings, but it can't be performance-based unless it's some career-milestone thing (like A-Rod getting extra millions for reaching 650 HRs).

I would think it crazy to think Mo will stay healthy and lights out all season. Sometime, somehow, his magic has to wear out. It would be nice to have Soriano around just in case, since they kind of ruined the guy who would have been the obvious successor a few years ago.

I would think it crazy to think Mo will stay healthy and lights out all season. Sometime, somehow, his magic has to wear out. It would be nice to have Soriano around just in case, since they kind of ruined the guy who would have been the obvious successor a few years ago.

Cashman has already said that D-Rob is the setup man for 2013 and the successor. They would've happily kept Soriano under contract, but after he opted out, there was no way. The 1 year offer they gave him to protect their draft pick was actually less than what his contract would've paid him, so the writing is on the wall. Closers are overpaid/overvalued IMO anyway.

v2micca:So, if they Yankees buy up the entire top of the free agency crop they are the evil empire and criticized for it. If they decide to exercise fiscal responsibility they are stupid and criticized for it. Sounds like Cashman has a fun job.

Fiscal responsibility is usually spending within your means. For the Yankees, this allows them to spend more than most teams.

Droog8912:thecpt: Can someone correct me if I'm wrong. Summary: Yankees aren't trying to bid for Greinke and Hamilton because they historically don't like the pressure of big markets, thus the writer interprets this as Yankees being frugal for no reasons mentioned in the article.

Greinke is not believed to be capable of handling big markets. Hamilton is a recovering drug user with injury issues who wants 7yr/175m. I wouldn't want either of them on the Yankees on longer than 1 year contracts.

/Hope they keep Ichiro to replace Swisher

Wow, thank god I have you two geniuses to point out how Greinke is a delicate flower who can only blossom in tiny out of the way places like Los Angeles. He had a no trade clause to the Yankees because any good agent knows a no trade clause like that means big money if it gets bought out. His anxiety issues have nothing to do with it.

Hal thinks "You can field every bit as good a team with young talent." He's right, but where are the Yankees going to get that young talent? The team as a whole is getting a bit long in the tooth (average age of 45 man roster is 33 years old and will be 34 next season if I understand the way aging works).Hal wants to get the payroll down to $189 million by 2014, which is a cut of $21 million. Fine. That's one marquee player. That's Mark Teixeira money. How does Hal propose to get there? Good luck with that, skinflint.

Soriano was lights out for the Rays in 2010. Set the team record for saves which was broken this past season by Rodney. Crazy how the pitching clinic down in St. Pete transforms guys like Soriano into top tier pitchers.